Food Stereotypes: Are you what you eat?

"It's bad luck to run out of rice"

 

 

In my very first blog post I mentioned Edward Said and his theory on Orientalism, the West's ongoing fascination with the East based upon romanticised images of it; in addition to the aforementioned Said identifies prejudices and maintains that the Western study of the East was for the purposes of imposing imperialist constraints, where the Westerner is supposed to know more about the Orient than the natives. This theory goes beyond literature and politics and effects the way we judge foreign foods; I have since then thought more about this and come to realise that there is a stereotypical nature that we have developed with a multitude of foods, not just from the East. For example, we associate meat with men and children with sweets. In regards to the East we mainly associate rice and spices with parts of Asia and the Middle East; in Eastern Vegetarian Cooking (1983) Madhur Jaffery begins her chapter 'Rice and Other Grains' by asserting this association:

 

Rice originated in Asia. Emotionally and nutritionally, Asians have depended upon it ever since for their sustenance. For many Asians, a meal without rice is quite inconceivable, and an invitation to dinner often translates as an invitation to 'eat rice'.

There is something about this soothing, ingratiating grain that is quite addictive. While it has character, fragrance, and texture, it does not obtrude. It seduces without ever having to exert itself.

But it has to be cooked well first. That is the reason I have devoted quite a few pages to basic methods of cooking long-grain rice, Japanese rice, glutinous rice, brown rice, and Persian-style rice. 134  

 

Jaffery's tone exudes the romanticised image that Said identifies in Western literature, and it is interesting that she should adopt this tone because, despite being a native Indian, she has since her late teens lived in Western society, thus she can (theoretically by Said's terms) be seen to be under the influence of Western influence. Having said this, she is not wrong - from personal experience rice is very important, even emotionally as she states. Although many modern Asian households vary their diet and don't eat it day in day out, there are traditions and even superstitions that arise from their ancestors dependance on it; for example my Mother has brought me up to believe that it is bad luck/ a bad sign when your rice supply runs low or completely out. Furthermore, the stereotype of Asian foods spans as far as the presentation of products, packaging and restaurants - customers expect all aspects of Asia to be colourful and fulfil their exotic fantasies by being overly ornate, to the extent that they become cheap imitations making 'authentic' culture a joke.

 

 

The assumption that Asians live off of rice is wrong and highlights an ignorance on behalf of those in the West that believe it, whilst some stereotypes are valid there is a blurring where it can now be percieved to be racist. As Said theorises in Orientalism (1978) Europe's dominance over Asia and it's rewriting of it's past from the assumption that they are collectively subaltern has instilled certain views of how it ought to be presented, earlier narratives of the East that remain unchanged and difficult to alter. Colonial literature and early literature on food has been unashamedly open about discrimination, depite heralding from a different time, we are now more acutely aware of the preoccupation of such branding.

 

Below I have included a list of links to articles based on sterotypes constructed through food:
Why is meat considered manly?

Do your food products have racist roots?

The Gendering of Food: You are what you eat!

 

Madhur Jaffery

The Indian actress and food writer hailed as the instigator of introducing the Western world to Indian cuisine:

May I begin by telling you my initial memories of this woman: like the majority of food written about in literature Madhur Jaffery's first appearance in my life was as a softly spoken TV personality who my father insisted I watch, saying "Granny used to cook that" in regular intervals; so when I came across her cookbook Eastern Vegetarian Cooking (1983) amongst various other Asian cookbooks that belonged to my Granny, I knew at once that this was the book with which to centre my assignment on. Like Jaffery, my Granny was born in India and, despite doing little cooking herself as a young girl, grew up practising and valuing the culinary skills and knowledge in  being able to cook rich and aromatic dishes, and pass them on to other generations like my mother and myself.
The acknowledgments and introduction to several of her books draw on her experiences of food, and although they differ in their uses of ingredients, the tone and format of her writing remains consistant throughout. Jaffery reiterates the link between food, literature and memory as she goes on to tell you how she accumulated the recipes within the book and reveal the secrets of producing a multitude of different dishes from mere potatoes and aubergines.

Now regarded by many food writers as the number one authority on Indian food, it is rather ironic that her career did not start out as such - growing up as a child in India Jaffery barely knew anything about cooking and it wasn't until she moved to London that she learnt to cook some dishes reminiscent of her mother's cooking in her late teens. Following her award-winning performance in Shakespeare Wallah (1965) she became known as "the actress who could cook" and was snapped up by the BBC to present a show on Indian cooking; the 1960s was where her career really took off. Not long after flattering reviews about her and her cooking started to emerge had she been recognised by the New York Times and recieved her first book contract which produced An Invitation to Indian Cooking (1973).
Jaffery's prestige spans across all forms of media as well as literature: she is the notable author of over fifteen books on Indian, Asian and vegetarian cuisine, she has appeared in over twenty films, opened restaurants in New York, and has developed a line of of commercial cooking sauces to name just a few.
Below are a selection of some of her popular cookbooks and a link to her current website as well as Eastern Vegetarian Cooking:

Madhur Jaffery's Curry Nation